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Rewriting Your Screenwriting Goals

February 1st, 2012 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Featured Posts | Screenwriting - (0 Comments)

Rewriting Your Screenwriting Goals | Screenwriting Blog

FIND OUT WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF

The last new screenwriting post I wrote for this site was posted on December 1, 2011.  2 months ago to the day.  It was about the frustration screenwriters sometimes feel that leads them to furiously type FLKJFLSDDSJ:LF.  I haven’t written about my passion since…

The reason for the lack of posts is simple.  I wasn’t writing any screenplays.  I decided that, once and for all, I would wrap up some big projects and start 2012 with a clean slate.  I’m happy to say I accomplished that goal.  We finished and released 17 West’s latest short film The Climb.  In addition to that release, we put Playing Through online as well.  It was all timed with the launch of our brand new website 17west.ca.  Now I can start a new year with nothing left to do except write. (And get married in the fall)

All of the sudden I’m just a screenwriter.  I’m not a web designer anymore.  I’m not a director either.  All my projects in 2012 involve writing in some capacity.  Whether it’s blogging, picking away at my eBook or finishing up a new script, my mind is free to create new things.  It’s an incredible feeling.

First up for me is a deeply personal story that I’m absolutely terrified to write.  It’s a terror I can’t wait to explore.  A demon I can’t wait to banish from my mind and onto the page.

Thinking about the new projects I want to tackle makes me wonder where I will be at the end of 2012.  Mainly because I’ve been asking myself a very serious question for over a year now:

Am I a screenwriter?  Or do I simply enjoy writing screenplays?

I’m not sure I can answer that.  I’m an honest person so I don’t mind admitting that currently, I have no screenplays in production.  I have no screenplays awaiting judgement in competitions.  I do not have an agent texting me hourly for updates on my latest draft.  There are no producers with a copy of my screenplay on their desks.

But that didn’t stop me from writing short screenplays entitled After, Lorraine, Maybe Not Today, Nathan’s Hoard, The Cold Spot, The Guardian, Caligari, The Blanket Fort and Droid.  It didn’t stop me from dusting off a feature length script I started in college and finishing it.  It didn’t stop me from developing treatments for 2 new features I plan to write this year in addition to a bunch of new shorts I’m excited about.

I am not a professional screenwriter in the sense that I do not get paid to write screenplays.  I just love to write. Screenwriting is my cure for anxiety.  It’s my calm place.  It’s mine.  But I’m 28 years old now and I just don’t think that’s enough anymore.  I feel like it’s time to find out what I’m made of.  Yet, I’m frustrated because I’ve said that before.  I’ve even written about it on this blog.

“This year, I’m going to get my act together and find out if I have what it takes.”

It sounds great but that sentence won’t fill up the pages will it?  It merely starts the engine but it’s pointless if the engine dies less than a mile down the road.  What makes this year different?

“Nothing changes if nothing changes.”

What changed this year?  I’ve simplified things.  All I’ve got is screenwriting now.  It’s just me and Final Draft. (Or Celtx on my iPad)

Above all else, I think the main difference is my main goal overall.  Normally, I start a year thinking about all the screenplays I may or may not finish.  This year, I’m thinking about the screenplays I’d like people to read.  The screenplays that actors, agents and producers can get excited about. The screenplays that may become films someday.  That’s a BIG difference in my usual thought process and it’s a ‘rewrite’ I should have done years ago.

Maybe I was afraid.  Maybe I’m still afraid.

So…  Am I a screenwriter? Or do I simply enjoy writing screenplays?  I think I’d be happy with either in the long run because no matter what I’ll get to do what I love.

Check out my 150th screenwriting post featuring 15 of my personal favorites.

Have you rewritten your screenwriting goals lately?

The Athletic Nerd Screenwriting Blog | Top 100 Screenwriting Websites

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Screenwriting & The Game Of Thrones Theme

January 30th, 2012 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Featured Posts | Screenwriting - (1 Comments)

Screenwriting & The Game Of Thrones Theme | Screenwriting Blog

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

THE OPENING CREDITS OF GAME OF THRONES

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?

Screenwriting & The Game Of Thrones Theme | Screenwriting Blog

XTRA | How Diddy’s ‘Coming Home’ Inspired My Latest Screenplay

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Movies, Screenwriting & Independent Film in 2012

January 14th, 2012 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Web - (0 Comments)

The Athletic Nerd Movie Screenwriting Independent Film Blog

The Athletic Nerd has truly become a big part of my life.  Waking up each morning and posting something new from the world of movies was merely a dream a few years ago.  I never thought I would make the time to keep up with the enormous amount of work a daily blog demands.  Overall, 2011 was a fantastic year that saw the biggest jump in traffic, a brand new look and tons of original content.

When I thought about my goals for 2012 I couldn’t help but feel excited.  But goals still need to be set, met and exceeded.

The Athletic Nerd, at it’s core, is a blog about the movies that inspire the aspiring filmmaker.  It’s about the passion that fills the pages of a screenplay, the dedication that fuels a director on set and the commitment of an editor pouring over footage in the cutting room.  Over the last 2.5 years, I’ve written about virtually everything in some capacity including marketing films, producing and how social media influences a new generation of artists.

I love to write about film.  I’m excited to continue writing about my own filmmaking adventures but more than ever, I’m excited to write about the adventures of others.  From featuring films in the latest edition of The Post to interviewing filmmakers about their work, I’ve covered tons of projects over the last year.

2012 will come with an increased focus on interviews and features.  I’ve spent over 2 years developing a work flow for this blog and now I’m ready to refine it.  2012 will be the year I take the content to the next level.   When I start a new screenplay, I challenge myself to be better.  This blog is no different.

This post happens to be number 800 overall.  800 posts about movies, screenwriting & independent film.  2012 will see the arrival of my 1000th post.  I recently received page hit number 500,000.  Half a million!  I can’t wait to find out which milestones I’ll be chasing next year.

I’m excited to share the projects that resulted from the fire sparked by the movies I love.

As always, send any suggestions, comments or links to your films to jason@17west.ca

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ROUNDERS, Poker, Cribbage & An Emotional Short Screenplay

November 28th, 2011 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Featured Posts | Movies | Previously Viewed | Screenwriting - (0 Comments)

ROUNDERS, Poker & Screenwriting

LISTEN, HERE’S THE THING…

” If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.”

ROUNDERS is THE poker movie.  When I first saw the film, I had never played a real game of Texas Hold’em.  It was late so I busted out a deck of cards and practiced on my own.  A few days later I purchased a set of chips from the dollar store and got a couple games together.  I discovered very quickly that my friends were also discovering poker for the first time and they also LOVED Rounders.

I still remember what it was like when poker exploded onto sports networks everywhere.  For a newly obsessed poker player, it was easy to catch it on television and learn some new tricks… In college, we held tournaments with more than 20 people focused on the 200+ dollar ‘winner take all’ purse.  (In college that pays for 2… maybe 3 entire nights at the bar!)

But…  Here’s the thing.

I SUCK AT POKER…

ROUNDERS, Poker & Screenwriting

I remember one hand specifically in the last ‘big’ tournament before I eventually lost interest.  We were down to the final 5 and I was definitely 5th.  I had a shot to double up with ace king.  I stuck around, bluffing a remarkable hand but I had nothing.  It wasn’t until the river that my ace appeared.  I went all in.  I was already spending that 200 bucks.  The chip leader called my bet and turned over pocket aces.  He was a much better poker player than I was.

He even quoted a famous scene from Rounders as he collected the remainder of my chips…  and dreams…

“So… You hef my maaney?”

All Time Best Movie Character With An Accent

My interest in poker fizzled after I graduated but Rounders is still staple in my annual movie routine.  Any movie that deals with passionate characters inspires me.  I love a good story where someone with talent goes for it.  It’s even more entertaining when the character is up against a villain like Teddy KGB!  Beyond that, I loved Rounders because it was about a game I barely knew and ignited an interest in it’s subject matter.  To me, that is impressive storytelling.

XTRA | All Time Best Movie Character with an Accent

ROUNDERS INSPIRED A SHORT SCREENPLAY

The Athletic Nerd Screenwriting Blog

The idea of taking a game that the main stream didn’t embrace at the time and propelling it into the lime light fascinated me.  I started thinking about games I loved and how I could make them relatable in a story.  I focused on Cribbage.  It’s my family’s GAME.  It’s a game my dad and his father played non stop when Grandpa came to visit.  The two of them had so many epic battles it was impossible not to learn and adore the game.  Skunking someone in my family is like a badge of honor!

“15-2, 15-4, that’s all the rest don’t score”

Not long after a viewing of Rounders, I had written the first draft of a screenplay based on my families love of Cribbage and to this day, it’s one of my favorites.  My grandfather passed away when I was 10 years old.  I never got my chance to play him.  So I wrote the story from the point of view of a 10 year old boy who gets to play his grandfather for the first time.

It felt like a true story as I wrote it and I cried when I typed ‘THE END’.  When I finished that screenplay, I knew what it was like to sit down with my grandpa and play a game we both loved.  I wrote that story for me.  I included all of his catch phrases and smiled as I relived those precious childhood memories.

All that from a poker movie?

You never know when inspiration will strike.  I’ll always be thankful that I discovered Rounders when I did.  It inspired me to write a story that means the world to me.  Before I saw Rounders, I never got to play Cribbage with my grandpa.  Now I feel like I have and that’s a wonderful thing.

This is an image I made in my early Photoshop days.  I taped it on the wall to the left of my computer so it was always in sight as I wrote my screenplay.

ROUNDERS, Poker, Cribbage & An Emotional Short Screenplay

WHAT GAME WOULD YOU WRITE ABOUT?

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Why King’s Quest 6 Ruled My Screenwriting Notebook

November 7th, 2011 | Posted by jasonmckinnon in Featured Posts | Screenwriting | Technology - (0 Comments)

Screenwriting: Why King's Quest Ruled My Notebook | Screenwriting Blog

OLD SCHOOL VIDEO GAMES INSPIRE SCREENPLAYS TOO

I got my hands on King’s Quest 6 long ago.  How long ago?  It ran on my lightning fast Compaq Presario 850.  I instantly fell in love with the amazing graphics and gameplay.  And thus the game dominated my life for months.

My dad runs his own business and our computer was command central in our basement.  Obviously, I’m thankful that my dad is a hard working man but it was always disappointing to come home from school and see him working.  It meant I couldn’t play King’s Quest!

Screenwriting: Why King's Quest Ruled My Notebook | Screenwriting Blog

Once he was finished his to-do list, I got to work exploring and solving puzzles.  Eventually, my imagination surpassed the limits of the game and I began writing my own story entitled.  The King’s Deadly Race.  I filled up a bunch of loose pages before my mom bought me a notebook to collect them all.

And so, I would make progress in the game and in my own story simultaneously.  It was a glorious time.  I would open up new secrets in the game and it would inspire me to create my own unique secrets in my writing.  Eventually, I beat the game and moved on but for a little while, King’s Quest literally dominated my imagination.

I think screenwriters everywhere have little tales like this.  Moments from our past that inspired us and led us down the road we walk today.  I look back on King’s Quest 6 fondly not only because the game captured my imagination but because it set my imagination on fire.

To this day, I still have the first 5 chapters of The King’s Deadly Race in the same notebook my mom bought me long ago.  I can tell you exactly where it is.  I keep it close because it was created when my passion for writing began.  While I wrote that book, I discovered how much I love to write and I began searching for a medium that suited me.

I found that outlet the day I discovered the screenplay format and the rest is history.

C:\

cd Quest [enter]

C:\quest>

Quest.exe [enter]

That’s probably not exact but you get the idea.  Takes me back.

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